How to make great Christmas decorations with your child

Christmas is a great time to get the kids involved in making handmade decorations. Handmade things are also great ideas to give as gifts to special friends and family. Here are some ideas to get crafty this ChristmasSalt dough decorationsWhat you’ll need:For the salt dough:300g plain flour150g salt1/3 cup waterCookie cutters / cups / bowls in various sizesFor the decoration:- Paints- Clear varnish- Glitter- A length of ribbon or pipe cleanerMethod:1 - Put the flour and salt into a bowl and mix together. Then pour in the water, and mix it up until it forms a dough.2 - Using a rolling pin, roll your dough out until it’s 0.5cm-1cm thick.3 - Then get your child to gently push their hand (or foot) into the dough until it makes a nice impression.4 - Then cut out your decoration using a cookie cutter. If you don’t have one big enough to fit around the handprint, just use a small bowl or cup, with a knife to help.5 - Cook your salt dough shape until it’s firm and dry. This might take 30 seconds in the microwave or 20 mins in the oven at 180°C. It all depends on how thick your dough is, but if it comes out a bit wet, keep on cooking.6 - Once your dry dough has cooled, pick a colour and paint the shape of the handprint. And if yiu wanted to add in some festive glitter do it while the paint is still wet.7 - Thread through some ribbon, hang on the tree and enjoy!

Handprint baublesWhat you’ll need:- A little helper- White child-safe paint- A shatterproof bauble in a contrasting colour- Metallic pens- Permanent markerMethod:1 - Paint your little helper’s hand with a light-ish coating of child-safe paint.2 - Press their hand onto the bauble, being careful to keep those fingers still. You don’t want your design to smudge.3 - Leave to dry for a few hours. You could keep your design simple and leave it there. Or if you want to create some Christmassy characters, use your marker pens to draw a snowman on each fingerprint.Handprint decorations are always such a lovely way at making memories withyour children as they get older. If you keep each handprint decoration over a number of years you'll be able to see how big your little one's have grown.